Scudder Falls Bridge project to take on interchange issues

LOWER MAKEFIELD, Pa., – Accidents are common at the interchanges of the current Scudder Falls Bridge, but officials at the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) are hoping that much needed improvements will fix this potentially deadly problem.

One of the goals of the Scudder Falls Improvement Project is to create a safer interchange environment. The current bridge will be replaced with twin bridges within the next decade.

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Construction is set to begin as early as 2013 and could take 3 to 4 years to complete.

Among the other features of the project is the establishment of three northbound and southbound lanes. Tolls will be collected using a cashless E-Z Pass system. There will be no toll booths.

Additionally, a pedestrian/bicycle path will serve as a link between the two canal paths on both sides of the Delaware River.

The DRJTBC plans to reconfigure the Taylorsville Road interchange and reconstruct and reconfigure the Route 29 interchange through the use of roundabouts.

In Pennsylvania, the Taylorsville Road interchange will eliminate the existing eastern southbound off-ramp from I-95 and combine it with the existing western southbound off-ramp.

All other existing ramps at the interchange – the northbound off-ramp, the two northbound on-ramps and the southbound on-ramp – will be retained with minor alignment modifications made to the ramps.

Modifications will be made to I-95 acceleration and deceleration lanes in the interchange area to improve traffic safety and flow.

In addition, Taylorsville Road will be widened to provide two lanes in each direction plus turning lanes within the interchange. Woodside Road will be widened on the approaches and exit legs to its intersection with Taylorsville Road.

In New Jersey, reconstruction and realignment of the Route 29 interchange will be done through the use of roundabouts. There will be a “folded diamond interchange” with two roundabout intersections at the ramps with I-95.

All traffic signals through the interchange will be eliminated to allow for a free flow of traffic. The bypasses will be retained for Route 29 northbound and southbound traffic.

Adequate acceleration and deceleration lanes will be provided onto I-95 as well.

The stop-sign at the southbound I-95 on-ramp will be eliminated as will the existing I-95 on-ramp from Route 175 (Upper River Road) in New Jersey. This latter movement will be accommodated with the Route 29 interchange.

Folks who are in the habit of using the bridges at Washington Crossing, New Hope and Morrisville to avoid the traffic tie-ups on the Scudder Falls Bridge may be forced to change their habits in the future.

The increased capacity and improvements planned for the span will eventually attract motorists away from the other nearby bridges that are currently over-congested during peak driving times, according to officials at the DRJTBC.

Joe Donnelly, deputy executive director for communications at the DRJTBC, said one reason for this is because “the access ramps for the current Scudder Falls Bridge are so accident-prone and congested during peak periods that motorists are using the other nearby bridges as a means of avoiding the Scudder Falls bottleneck.”

Donnelly said once a new and improved bridge facility is provided, some of these currently diverted drivers will find the Scudder Falls Bridge a more attractive travel alternative – even with a cashless toll.

According to Donnelly, it would be “disadvantageous” to drive to non-toll bridges.

“The Scudder Falls Bridge’s two nearest non-toll bridges – Washington Crossing and Calhoun Street -- already exceed peak capacity during weekday high-volume travel periods,” he said. “Motorists who may attempt to use these bridges to avoid a toll during peak periods will determine that any toll savings will be outstripped by increased fuel cost, lost time, longer commutes and increased frustration.”

The DRJTBC evaluated the potential impacts of traffic diversion on local roadways and adjacent river crossings once an all-electronic cashless tolling system is established at the replacement bridge.

Estimated traffic diversions for the bridge are based on what would occur if the bridge were to be tolled and if it were not to be tolled.

The results of the analysis show that during peak evening rush hour (southbound from New Jersey to Pennsylvania) the traffic volume on the newly completed I-95/Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge will not be appreciably different than the traffic volume that would use the existing bridge without a toll.

The adjacent river crossings – Washington Crossing, Calhoun Street Bridge and Lower Trenton Bridge – will each see a slight decrease in volume during the peak hour.

Donnelly said the study shows that rather than causing an inordinate amount of traffic to divert to and overwhelm these other bridges, cashless tolling of a new Scudder Falls Bridge will actually help to alleviate regional traffic congestion (New Jersey to Pennsylvania).